What was it about the Washington Sports Club brand that prompted Barack Obama to choose to join its clubs over all others when he came to Washington after his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004?
No doubt, the brand, marketing, and advertising relayed an important message to Obama, now the 44th President of the United States: ‘this fitness club has what you need and we can offer it to you in a convenient manner at an acceptable price.’
No need for high pressure sales here. Senator Obama found what he was looking for and signed up.
Wouldn’t you like your branding/marketing/sales effort to be this effective?
Of course! It is hardly an overstatement to say that sales and marketing are the lifeblood of your health and fitness club. To keep your business healthy, you need to keep a constant flow of new members joining to grow your membership while replacing any who leave because they move away or change jobs.
Stephen J. Tharrett and James A. Peterson authors of Fitness Management (Healthy Learning, 2006) estimate that, to be successful, most clubs have to sell between 800 and 1,300 memberships on an annual basis. Larger clubs need to recruit as many as 5,000 new members each year.
Positioning is key
Branding, marketing and advertising help to create and nurture relationships with consumers in your community who are contemplating lifestyle changes, or, like Obama, want to keep up the good work. This is your reservoir of sales leads, people you hope will take the next step—tour your club as a prospective member.
To encourage people to walk through your door, you need to position your business to differentiate it from other clubs with strong branding.
Are you a new, no-frills Planet Fitness franchisor offering a special, one-year, prepaid membership for just $99? Or, is your club part of a well-known mid-range chain, such as the Washington Sports Club, with facilities clustered near home and office. Or, are you, like the Sports Club /LA, known for luxury?
Mere mention of brand names like these and others like Gold’s, Crunch, Lifetime Fitness, East Bank and 24-Hour Fitness communicate to consumers what the club stands for and will deliver for the price of a membership.
Paving the way for sales
Marketing and advertising—whether they utilize print, radio, television, direct mail or the Internet and email—need to be ongoing and relentless to generate the number of leads and prospects you’ll need to meet your sales goals.
As Tharrett and Peterson point out, sales is quite the numbers game. “While the percentages tend to vary from market to market and club to club, the average club can expect to convert 20% to 50% of its leads to prospects, and 20% to 80% of its prospects to actual members.”
It is up to your sales staff to identify what prospects are looking for, and communicate well how your facility, your programs and your staff will satisfy those needs—and close the sale.
Ben Midgely, who once served as team director of corporate sales at 24-Hour Fitness, and is now executive vice president of Planet Fitness, says that hiring sales people with passion is vital.
“You can’t teach passion, you have to find it. Look for people who are committed to fitness, and who care enough to want to spread the good word about its benefits, and help others succeed. If you focus on the member first, rather than the money, the money will follow.”